A Polite Invitation
A Polite Invitation is an Arson case in L.A. Noire. It is also the second of three cases in the game where you play as Jack Kelso throughout the entire case. Persons of Interest * Curtis Benson - Vice President of California Fire & Life. * Courtney Sheldon - Former army medic and member of 6th Marines. * Dr. Harlan Fontaine - Clinical psychiatrist and Suburban Redevelopment Fund contributor. * Leland Monroe - President of Elysian Fields Developments. Objectives * Pay Curtis Benson a Visit * Investigate California Fire & Life * Investigate Hall of Records * Answer the Telephone * Meet Leland Monroe * Search Leland Monroe's Office Detailed Walkthrough Clinic and Benson's Apartment In the opening cutscene, Jack Kelso awakes in a medical clinic and begins talking to Elsa Lichtmann. Afterwards, determined to rid the city of corruption, Assistant D.A. Leonard Petersen offers Kelso a job as an investigator for the District Attorney's Office. Kelso agrees. Leave the clinic and goes to Curtis Benson's apartment. Once you get to the apartment, check the mailboxes to find out that Benson lives in Apartment 2. Go up the stairs and make a left, then another left, and knock on the door. After a short cutscene in which Kelso pistol whips Benson, you will have to search for evidence in the apartment. *On the left side of the dining table you should find a document containing the Share Certificate '''clue. *On the desk, just to the left of the dining table, you should find the '''Insurance Agreement clue. Then kick open some double doors to find a 13-year-old girl in Benson's bed. A brief cutscene will begin in which Kelso advises her to go home and begins expressing his disgust towards Curtis. She says that he is kind and buys her nice things. As she leaves, Benson confirms that she will come back. This will not count as a clue towards the case. Proceed to question Benson. Interview Curtis Benson After questioning Benson, head over to the California Fire and Life building. California Fire and Life Building Take the elevator up and turn right towards Kelso's office (gold door knob). Find and open Lou Buchwalter's case file and tap the''' Longitude & Latitude''' written on the upper right corner of the blue sheet and the date on the pink slip. Don't forget to check the new value of the property, which will give you an additional clue. Doing this will trigger a cutscene with Jack Kelso and Cole Phelps. Hall of Records Once at the Hall of Records, walk up to the front desk and talk to the security guard. Take the stairs up one level and follow the walkway to the Registry Room, then proceed to talk to the man at the front desk. Follow the clerk to bookshelf "S" and examine a book. Open it and turn the page. On the right side, tap on Courtney Sheldon '''(4th page, 8th down, under directors). Then, either turn up your volume or turn on subtitles so you can find the coordinates on the big map. *Latitude: 034'04'29, Longitude: 118'17'58 Now use the calculator and enter 1,876,988 then divide it by 90,000 and pull the lever; you get 20. The clerk tells you to add 1 since A = 0, therefore your number is 21. The 21st letter in the Alphabet is "U" so go to the appropriate bookshelf and open up another book. On the right side, find and tap the name '''Randall Jones. A cutscene is triggered and a shootout occurs. Use caution; one criminal has a Thompson M1 and another has a shotgun. Watch out for the guy who hides behind the shelf a few feet away from you. Leland Monroe's Mansion After a cutscene, walk into your apartment and answer the ringing phone. Another cutscene will follow in which Leland Monroe asks Kelso to meet with him at his mansion. Loading his gun, Kelso replies that he might show up. Expecting the worst, Kelso and three other members of his and Phelps' former Marine unit storm Leland Monroe's Mansion in one of the largest shootouts in the game. Make your way through the garden and take out all of Monroe's private security. Then storm the house and defeat several more armed henchmen. Note that Jack will be on his own after the garden has been cleared. Another cutscene will follow in which Monroe's secretary shoots Kelso in the arm. Kelso quickly knocks her out, explaining that he was never very good at reading women. Enter the main hall and take out more henchmen. Watch out for two on the stairs. Then, go up the stairs and make a right to make your way into Monroe's office. Another cutscene is activated, wherein Kelso shoots Monroe in the leg, severely wounding him. After the cutscene, search the safe for shares, a criminal intelligence report '''and a '''payroll, listing the names of the dirty LAPD cops involved in Monroe's scheme. The main name featured in the notebook is that of Phelps' former Vice partner, Roy Earle. Make sure to grab the newspaper on the table behind Leland's desk and the photo next to it. Then, walk to the desk to find the last piece of evidence, a file. Tap one of the remaining names to finish your investigation. Occasionally, you will have to watch the Newspaper in order for the investigation to finish, allowing the cutscene to activate. A cutscene is activated which shows Kelso phoning Phelps' Arson number but getting Herschel Biggs instead. Kelso tells him to come over and hear Monroe's confession. Instead, Biggs tells him that Elsa Lichtmann has been kidnapped and Dr. Harlan Fontaine has been killed by an ex-patient. Kelso then leaves Monroe's as the latter crawls painfully over to his desk to call an ambulance for himself. Case Briefing "Elsa Lichtmann's friend was a set carpenter, which links Keystone to Elysian and Suburban Redevelopment, and explains where they're pulling their labor from, as well as their materials. And a guy called Petersen gave me a new job. DA's Special Investigator. Might as well enjoy the title, I don't think I'll get to keep it long with the amount of trouble I'm about to stir up." Case Notes * "Search Benson's apartment - you'll find he deserves much worse than a smack in the mouth." * "The Suburban Redevelopment Fund has been dismantled, the old-fashioned way." Collectibles * A Cadillac V16 Convertible is parked in front of the mailbox at Curtis Benson's apartment which can be entered for progress towards the Auto Fanatic Achievement/Trophy. * The 11th newspaper is found on Leland Monroe's desk in his home office. Trivia *Even if the player kills Kelso's kidnappers from ''House of Sticks'', they reappear during this case in the Hall of Records. *The broken steel ropes from the fallen chandelier from the case ''The Quarter Moon Murders'' are still in the Hall of Records when Kelso visits. *During the cutscene with Kelso and Monroe's phone call, Kelso is cleaning and reloading his pistol. His weapon is the Browning Hi-Power, a 9mm handgun. However, the box of ammunition states that the rounds are .45 caliber. This is most likely a developer oversight. *If the player has lost their hat in the shootout before meeting Monroe's secretary, being shot in the arm by her will sometimes glitch the hat back on for the remainder of the cutscene. *While investigating Curtis Benson's Apartment, above the record player in the living room is a painting identical to Anna Rodriguez, the girlfriend of suspect Gabriel Del Gado from the DLC Traffic case ''The Consul's Car''. *Curtis Benson's Apartment is almost a complete replication of the still-standing Mauretania Building. The building was originally commissioned by Jack Haley, who played the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. *While investigating the land registry in the Hall of Records, the name "J.P. Nicholson" can be found on the first page of the register. This is almost certainly a direct reference to Chinatown, which starred Jack Nicholson and featured a similar investigative scene in the Hall of Records. *At the Hall of Records, while examining the registry book, you can find "Suckerhud Industries", with directors Norville Barnes, Dr. Bronfenbrenner, Sidney J. Mussburger and Waring Hudsucker. This is a direct reference to the film The Hudsucker Proxy (1994). *The layout of the California Fire and Life building appears to be a direct reference to the film Double Indemnity (1944), whose Pacific All Risk Insurance building featured the same office "pit" and upper level catwalk of offices. *This is the only Arson case that the Hudson Commodore doesn't appear in. Video Walkthroughs File:LA_Noire_-_Walkthrough_-_Mission_20_-_A_Polite_Invitation_(5_Star)|Original Version File:LA_Noire_Remaster_-_Case_24_-_A_Polite_Invitation_(5_Stars)|Remaster Version File:L.A. Noire Part 21 A Polite Invitation|Commented Walkthrough Glitches * In the Xbox 360 version, Curtis' voice answer to the first question is missing. If the subtitles option is toggled on you can read what he's saying. * In all versions of the game, when interviewing Curtis, accusing him of lying and then backing out of the accusation will remove Jack's facial wounds while he makes his "my mistake" or similar line. They return, however, when he says something relevant to the case again. * During the cutscene where Monroe's men encounter Jack in the Hall of Records, Jack can be seen holding his firearm before he actually pulls it out. * Occasionally, in Monroe's office, you are required to watch the newspaper in order to proceed to the cutscene. Normally picking up the newspaper is enough, but here it is required to watch. (Skipping the video still counts as 'watching.') Category:Arson